Abdication
Ji-Un and Hwi sit together, discussing the truth about Hwi’s true identity. Ji-Un didn’t want to hurt her old flame, so she stayed quiet. It would have been agony for her of course, knowing that his old flame was actually the Crown Prince. But fate has thrown them back together again too.
When Hwi leaves, Ji-Un runs into So-Eun. She knows his heart belongs to someone else and decides to break off the engagement. She’s going to let her father know too, but for now it means Ji-Un is somewhat free from the shackles that were bound to him. Hwi however, is still a prisoner.
Ji-Un confronts his father about the plan to kill Dam-I. He is stubborn and bound to his principles, but Ji-Un has also discovered his own destiny. He warns Seok-jo that if he tries to kill Hwi then he will have to go through him first. ..
The Physician takes the Eunuch captive and demands to know why he killed the Eunuch. There, he admits that Lord Sangheon was the one who ordered this. In order to prove that, Hwi enacts a plan to break into Ki-Jae’s place and find the poison used by her grandfather. With evidence, it could be enough to usurp his rule.
For now, Hwi decides to head back to the palace and buy them all some time. With the Queen Dowager and Ki-Jae both in attendance, Hwi cleverly turns the two elders against one another. She promises that the secret regarding her “twin sister” will be kept buried, but Hwi is playing a very clever political game here. She’s flying close to the sun – but will she get burned?
One person who gets burned (literally speaking) is Seok-Jo. Guards rush into his residence, killing the hired help and holding his wife up at sword-point. With Ji-Un mounting a counter from behind, the pair work together to try and thwart the guards while bringing Ji-Un’s mother to safety. This attack was Ki-Jae’s doing of course, and as Ji-Un finds out he asks Seok-Jo for help in exposing the old man’s crimes.
Prince Wonsan releases the court ladies and Eunuch Hong, but they are both in a lot of pain. Wonsan tells Hyun that he doesn’t want to hurt them, but he knows that he has to do what’s best for them.
Unfortunately, this also means that Seok-Jo is in deep trouble with Ki-Jae. He pleads for the mercy of his family being kept alive, but we know that Ki-Jae has a heart of ice; he’s unlikely to allow that. However, Ji-Un finds the poison at Ki-Jae’s place and manages to slip away.
Ki-Jae’s men have cornered him on the way back, and as he’s about to be killed by Seok-Jo’s men, partway through, Ki-Jae takes a vial of poison from Ji-Un and gives it to him. This sets off a chain of events that leads to the capture of Ki-Jae and his men.
Hwi finds out her grandfather is up to something and heads straight to him with a group of guards. She calls him out for treason, but Ki-Jae is incredulous. He’s immediately arrested and taken away though, as Hwi watches on.
On the day of the treason trial, Hwi tries to get Ki-Jae executed for treason. However, she is stopped by Ga-On who shows up with Prince Jehyeon. Hwi then reveals to the Queen Dowager that she is going to abdicate the throne and return to being a court maid. This is too dangerous for her and others in the court so she decides to accept whatever punishment comes her way. ..
Before she passes the throne, Seok-Jo shows and confesses his crimes. Namely, that of what happened to the real King. Seok-Jo’s crimes were committed while he was pretending to be the real King. The decision on what to do with him now rests with Queen YeoYeon. However, she has agreed to send him over to YeoYeon to supervise a whole group of soldiers. When he is done, Queen YeoYeon will decide on a suitable punishment for him. ..
That evening, Hwi heads up to meet Ha-Kyung as promised. She breaks the news and confirms that she is a woman. She reassures the young woman as Ha0Kyung remains shocked.
Ji-Un is not happy about this. She wants to take back the throne, but Hwi won’t let her. Ji-Un is determined to get her revenge on Hwi, but she can’t do it without the throne.
Hong rushes over to reveal that Ki-Jae has escaped from his cell just prior to his state tribunal. Guards are found dead on the floor, and it appears that someone helped the old man escape. That’s bad news for all involved, but especially those loyal to Hwi. ..
With the Left State Minister’s secret army formed, a big battle looks set to commence for the throne. Ki-Jae and Prince Wonsan have both staged a massive coup and with the Left State Minister’s secret army formed, they are likely to win.
The Episode Review
The penultimate episode of “The King’s Affection” brings the main conflict into focus while simultaneously ramping up the drama and stakes for all our characters. ..
Ha-Kyung wraps up the story with Hwi, while Seok-Jo gets a redemptive arc at the end. It’s a nice touch to see him admit to his crimes and repent in front of Hwi. Even better still though is watching how Hwi handles this with dignity.
The woman in question is a powerful politician who has been given a position of power by her government. She is able to control the people around her and give them the information they need to make decisions. This façade of cool and power is what allows her to keep her people in line.
However, the main threat of Ki-Jae was always going to come back during the finale; he was thwarted way too quickly this episode. With one episode left in the season, it may have been obvious that this conflict wasn’t fully done and dusted. As it stands, it looks set to serve up one final gasp before the season is over. ..
This historical drama has been a lot of fun to watch and The King’s Affection’s popularity has only grown over the past few weeks. Will this one end in a way that we’re all hoping for? We’ll find out tomorrow!
